Nepal Telecom Launches 4G/LTE Service for Postpaid Subscribers – Learn How to Activate the Service

Nepal Telecom (NT), the state-owned telecom service provider which has been providing GSM services for more than 18 years, has finally launched 4G in Nepal. The company has introduced the 4G service based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.

Information and Communication Minister, Surendra Karki launched the service amid a special programme in Kathmandu yesterday.

The 4G service is launched in the selected locations of Kathmandu and Pokhara valley. However, the company has not officially published the exact locations of where the 4G service is made available in these two valleys.

“We are starting the 4G service in Kathmandu and Pokhara valley bearing the demand on the internet users. These two valleys are selected in the first round to test the 4G service and satisfy a significant portion of our customer base with high internet speed. Also, based on the results of the test, we will gradually expand the service in other places of the country.” said NT Spokesperson, Pratibha Vaidya.

For the time being, the 4G service is only made available for NT postpaid subscribers for the same cost of use of 3G service. As per the sources, NT will soon launch the service for its prepaid subscribers.

Since all the smartphone do not support 4G LTE service, NT postpaid subscribers need to have a 4G LTE supportive smartphone to use the 4G service. Also, as per the sources of NT, older SIM cards might not activate the 4G service even if the smartphone is 4G LTE supportive. In this case, the users might need to get a new SIM card for their number from nearby NT office.

How to activate NT 4G in Nepal

To activate 4G service on your smartphone, you need to dial *444#. The activation of the service will cost you Rs. 50 which will be deducted from your account balance.

NT 4G/LTE Free Promotional Package

NT has also announced an offer for its postpaid subscribers that includes free internet for 4 days only after the activation of the 4G service. The offer is for a limited period, the subscription period of the offers will end on Jan. 31, and the usage limit is 1GB per day.

The normal data tariff, i.e. Rs. 1/MB will be charged to the users if they cross the daily free usage limit.

Nepal Telecom (NT) is the first company to receive permission from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the regulatory body, to start the 4G in Nepal.

Ncell, a privately-owned cell phone service provider, regarded as the closest competitor to NT is yet to obtain the permission from NTA to launch the 4G service in Nepal.